Intern Voice: Hello World and Windows Phone 7 by Judy Lin

Hello everyone! My name’s Judy and I am—or was—a self-confessed BlackBerry addict.

I'm a student at Wilfrid Laurier University and doing my co-op term at Microsoft on the Developer Platform Evangelism team and it’s been very rewarding and cool in a plethora of ways. One of our product managers just gave me a Samsung Focus with WP7 to own for the duration of my term (!). This was going to be my baby, but it also meant adios to my beloved BlackBerry Bold 9700. Au revoir to BBM. Sayonara to my dear, abused button keys.

My BlackBerry has been at the gut of many frustrations and distractions in lectures, and using the WP7 so far has been like a welcome breath of fresh air. Why, do you ask?

1) Interface: With live tiles, navigation has never been this beautiful and friendly to me!

2) Phone design: Wide screen + dedicated camera start-up button x thin, light design = phone-photography win.

3) Integration: Upload everything and anything, share and post, quick and easy to Facebook, email, skydrive, etc.

Once upon a time, my ‘BB’ used to be a lifeline, and how quickly that attachment faded within days of the switch. In comparison, it feels crammed, the interface is uninspiring, and the size of the screen and the capabilities cannot even compare. Letting go has never been easier.

Perhaps I'm being a bit harsh in judging my once-loved phone like an ex-boyfriend. Perhaps I'm just excited to be with something new and innovative that eases so smoothly into my life (hello, Facebook/contact-list integration?). Perhaps I’ve finally found a phone that ties together all my social interactions and connections without tying up my time. Only time can tell (re: future blog posts). J

– Judy Lin

Follow @godevmental and me @judy_lin, and tell me about your own transition stories or your love/hate relationship stories with your phones, because—let’s be real (T9Word, shattered screens…)—we’ve all been there.